FRANCONIA, N.H. (WHDH) - A Somerville man climbing a cliff in New Hampshire died after a massive falling rock cut his rope, causing him to fall about 150 feet on Sunday.
New Hampshire Fish and Game conservation officers responded to several 911 calls about a climber, identified as 34-year-old Benjamin Kessel, who had fallen after a rock the size of a refrigerator dislodged and severed his climbing rope on the Moby Grape climbing route on Cannon Cliff in Franconia Notch State Park just before 4 p.m.
The officers, along with members of Pemi Valley Search and Rescue Team, searched the base of the cliff while three climbers descended the route Kessel had fallen.
Around 5:30 p.m., the climbers found Kessel about 150 feet down the cliff in some small spruce trees and determined that he was dead, according to N.H. Fish and Game.
Crews decided to recover his body early Monday morning and focused their efforts on getting the searching climbers back to the top of the climb before the onset of darkness and cooling overnight temperatures.
On Monday, members of the Mountain Rescue Service, conservation officers, and Pemi Valley Search and Rescue Team returned to the summit and hoisted Kessel’s body back to the top of the cliff.
They then carried him down to the Cannon Mountain Tram parking lot, arriving at the base around 12:30 p.m.
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